A house with Nicole

So, I got a Twitter message from Nicole last night, Sarah's ex flatmate, asking me to move in with her when she arrives on the 20th of April! It won't be that soon so I'm looking into short-term accommodation so I can give Kirsten back her room. I've been there for a month and now I am slowly understanding that it's okay not to be settled yet because the right place for me is still in my future. I believe that it'll be what I'm looking for with Nicole and her Canadian friend. The friend wants to love on the East, which suits me very well, and I know I can trust Nicole and will feel like it's my home too. I can't wait! Now I just have to find some short-term accommodation. I asked G about her family here as she said to me if I get stuck I can ask her so I did. She's going to look into it for me. Yahoo! That might turn up something nice and cheap too but still with wonderful people. I'm so excited.

Today I went out to Uni and I'm proud of myself as I navigated the library and got a load of books for my assignments. I spent a few hours on the internet gathering resources so I'm psyched to start putting it all together over the weekend. I am worried about the deadline for both of the creeping up on me. I'll be alright. For a while now I have wanted to go and study in a park, but I think it might be a little tricky at this stage as I need my laptop. One day I'll do it. I really need to work on my other blog about all the little wonderful things. Maybe soon. Probably not. Better go meet Jess now for shopping! Vintage bikes is the goal. I also need fabric paint for the awesome white canvas shoes I started working on to turn them into Oxfords thanks to Miss James. I'll have to put a picture up on my new blog. Great way to kick it off! Go me.

Hug a Gum tree

After a day of not feeling like doing anything, and I didn't, I had a nice evening with The Germans [Kirsten's pet name for the German couple living with her and Sandi] and their friends, also from Germany, who are down for a few days from Brisbane. They leave early tomorrow morning. We went to Bimbos and had the always amazing $4 pizzas. I had a Rekorderlig berry cider and it was nice to be a little tipsy listening to the Germans speaking German. Sometimes they spoke English. We were in the fairly private room upstairs and a small group joined us. A brother and sister, and their friend who is family to them. We all had a bit of a chat and the brother kept looking at me and smiling in a way to suggest he was into me. It got me all scared and heart racing and blushing. After an hour maybe we left and it was nice to get outside into the cool night. He was cute enough but I'm not after a fling. He didn't seem like my ideal guy. I'm too shy anyway.

I had another look not too long ago on Gumtree for rooms in Richmond and found a lovely one with two sweet sounding girls. I emailed them so once again I am praying they write back to me and we can arrange a meeting time and day. I really want to have a room by next week. I have a viewing on Monday night in Brunswick that could be very suitable but I am really hoping to get a room in Richmond. I don't want to have to say to the Brunswick one that I'm waiting to hear back from another places, if I get appointments set up for any of the Richmond rooms I have emailed about. I want to be able to say "yes I'll take it" straight away and be done looking. I don't want to jerk them around either and then say yes after two days or something if I am able to see some Richmond ones in two days space for example. I'm just hoping I'll either love it or know it's not right for me. The people are the key really.

Tomorrow I might go to Savers. I think I'm going to the Derby with Jess in Geelong but I can do a morning trip. I really didn't feel like doing anything today even though I did want to have a little adventure. I will even find a park somewhere to have a sit down in. That's so peaceful and I love being connected to Nature. I really like the idea that Nature is God. Not a person as such but worshiping the land and Earth instead of a person. That sounds better to me. When we went to the Botanical Gardens for Uni and we hugged a tree, I really felt a connection to the Earth. It was beautiful. I want to hug more Gum trees. For now, however, I should get off the internet and go to sleep!

Family chats and no room

I just had a lovely chat to my family. Once again they were all at Margate having dinner sadly without me. I'd love to be there right now just for the evening. Once again I wish I could disaparate there and back [Harry Potter] but alas I cannot.

Today I was at the Mission moving all the boxes from the Archive room upstairs to what I believe will be our new room. It's much bigger and we're getting filing cabinets tomorrow so I'll head there between 10 an 11 to help out. After that I'll head to Uni and hand in my first assignment! I can't wait for that. One down, plenty more to go.

I went and saw a room this afternoon, very spur of the moment, but it had been taken just before I got there. It wasn't what I was looking for anyway but the woman drove me back to Kirsten's which was nice. The place had 9 rooms. Enough said. It was like one of those Girl Guide camps, very dormitory. Not my scene. Anyway, tomorrow after I get back from Uni I'll head to Lygon Street and check out the noticeboard I've heard about for room ads. Hopefully there will be a winner for me amongst them. Time will tell.

I'm consumed by house and money issues at the moment so I'm a bit boring. I can't wait to get settled and start unpacking and decorating. I hope I get something by next week. I really hope the one on Monday night is the one. Who knows. I'll apply for a few more places and see what happens. I do also need to go on a job hunt. Arrg.

I have just had a look at more houses. I might see if I can get appointments set up. I need my own room!!

Internetting in bed

So here I am, lying in Kirsten's bed while she's at Tom's, and I'm surfing the internet. Internetting doesn't get much better than this. It's so comfy! I'm glad to be relaxing as I went on a rather long and kinda pointless walk today. I went to check out a house in Coburg but I knew it wasn't going to be worth the effort and it was a much longer journey than I had anticipated. I bought the movie Nine from a convenience store on the way but that wasn't even worth it. Ahh well. I got to see more of Melbourne and I had a glimpse at Savers! One day I'll go back there.

Tomorrow I'll be at the Mission. I'm glad I'll be doing something useful. I am also glad I can use it for the basis of one of my assignments. I really need to get myself sorted Uni wise. I need to get all my research done for the second and third assignments for the first unit. Otherwise I'll stress myself out too much, which I am beginning to do. On Tuesday after class I might stay later and do some research on the Uni computers. It's all so fast there and I won't have to pay. That's the way to do it.

Once again, everything is on hold until I find a room. I hope the one in the Docklands writes back. It's in Siddeley St., which is really close to the Mission. The apartments, I presume, have access to a pool and a gym and stuff like that. Please contact me! It's so close to the city and it'd be awesome. It's just what I want!

Anyway, enough of that. I am consumed by finding a place, by finding a job, and everything else is on hold as I don't want to spend too much money. It's bugging me. I'll find a room by next week. The Monday one sounds good. We'll see.

I had better get some sleep.

My mind is all over the place

So, Marie took the room. I have set up appointments to view houses and saw two on Sunday but they weren't any good. I'm looking for a great room, a great location, AND a great set of house mates. It has to be the trifecter. I got that word off Bones. It isn't recognised on here as a word though. Ahh well. Saturday was another Roller Derby match and this time it was awesome! So much faster and entertaining. Usually I'm not good with meeting someone's friends but Jess' were nice and we had some good chats. I usually feel like I should have stayed home because I'm not so good around people socially. Sigh. That's just me. Monday we started the new unit Heritage Interpretation and I am loving it! The people have changed in the class but some of them are the same. At least Dana and Vicky are still with me. We went on a field trip on Tuesday to the Botanical Gardens for an official Aboriginal welcome, to ACCA for a tour of the exhibition and to the Shrine of Remembrance. It was so beautiful there and I loved the Gardens. I will be back soon. Today I need to finish my first assignment. I have most of it done but I might change a few things, plus it's 100 words to much but that might be alright. My mind is all over the place. I hate not having constant access to the internet at home where I can update regularly. Oh, Sunday was a wonderful day. I was smiling down the street. I met George's cousin Cate at 1030 at Babka in Brunswick St and we had a bit of a snack and a drink. She is so lovely. We went for a wander around the street and went into some shops and in one of them I bought 3 amazing skirts! I am so stoked. Two tartan and one like a very long netball skirt with the pleats. We went to some other shops and I found some cute birds like the ones dad started making out of balsa wood so I might get him some of those for his birthday for some inspiration. Then on my way back over to Nicholson St where I catch the tram to Kirsten's I stumbled upon the Rose St Market! It was so lovely. I bought some cards with cute prints on them. Yesterday wasn't so great. I filled a dam with my tears. I just wanted to go home to a place where I have succeeded. I still don't have a house here and it's bothering me. I have an appointment for tonight, one for Monday, and hopefully another in the works. I just want a room to settle into. I want to feel like I can send my belongings instead of feeling like it isn't my place too. Sigh. It'll all work out in time. I need to go on a job hunt. I will do that soon. Today I'll have a look at my resume and make a few according to which job I'm after. Bookshop jobs would be the best. I'll try and write cover letters too. I also have to study more. Eek! I'm glad there's no pressure to read the unit readers but they have valuable information in them so it's worth it if we do. I'll do what I can.

Interesting developments

So, things are changing all the time. Yesterday Marie and I went and saw this awesome house but there were so many other people there and it made us depressed. Since then, I've been down and frustrated about the whole house issue. Nothing is coming of our work. To make things more interesting and complicated, Marie has been offered a room by a friend. She's going to look into it more but she might take that and I might find something else on my own. I'll at least look into it. I just like that we're friends, that I am comfortable around her and that I have someone to fall back on. Finding a new room might be tricky because I have high standards when it comes to room mates and the house so I'm getting a bit worried and anxious. So many feelings.

I need to look for jobs. I also need to look for rooms in already established houses but it's going to be hard. Things with Marie aren't exactly happening, just because we haven't found a third person who is 100% committed to us and that because there is just too much competition out there. It might be easier to find a room elsewhere but then again finding the right one will be hard. Kirsten found a few rooms for me on her Uni site so I'll have to ask her to check that out for me again. Ahh this is annoying. I would rather go into a new house with a friend but it might not work out that way. Hmm.

Yesterday I had the volunteering at the Mission. It was so good to be back. I did more scanning and we did a search for a pretty important artefact with no luck. Apparently it was borrowed then returned but it's not around. Hmm. It's a bit suss.

Monika is coming up from Hobart on Sunday to Tuesday! We're going to hang out on Monday night and have dinner and maybe see a movie or something. Very exciting! I can't wait to have a friend here, another one that is. I've seen Amy twice this week so that's been lovely. We went to Bimbo's and I went again this afternoon for lunch. I can't wait to get back 'home' and have something to eat. I'm starving!! Better have a quick look at houses then get out of here.

So much to say

Looking back over my last entry, I must say that the Roller Derby was fun! I did get McDonalds, naughty me, but being a bit sick made that food help. The Derby wasn't the fastest game, as Jess told me, but it was interesting watching it all the same.

I have finished lectures for my first unit but have 3 assignments to hand in over the next few months. I love that there are no exams. It's a brilliant way to organise the diploma. Today I will try and finish the first one and hand it in early as it's due on a Friday and why would I want to go out there for 10 minutes when it takes an hour each way to get there? I'll hand it in on the Tuesday like Dana will. She's a smartie that one. Next week we start the next unit. I'm sure I'll like it but it's just that there is so much to read as well as do the assignments. I'll never get it all done. I guess that's okay because there will be time after the last 3 week unit is done to finish those readings...

Last night I went and met Amy and we had dumplings and some spring rolls for dinner. Then we went and got some 5 Seeds cider and went back to her place and hung out. I love hanging out with her. She inspires me and makes me laugh and like myself. Once I get a place I am definitely going to start working on my health and fitness. She has an amazing room. She has a double bunk-bed and instead of sleeping on the top she has the mattress underneath on the ground and has made it like a cubby, with lights and fabric draped all around. I might do that when I get a room, but I might not. I was telling her how I am not very improvisational and that I have to see things to get inspired. I'm no good at thinking amazing things up. So in a way, the cubby would be awesome to have but a nice bed might be nice also. I'll think about it. It might be hard to put fairy lights up otherwise.

On Monday night I went over to Marie's and we applied for 3 places online. Now it's a bit redundant as what we'll do is print the applications out and take them filled out and prepared to the real estate agent there as one of the receptionists Marie talked to frowned upon filling out forms before having seen the property. So that is what we'll do. We're going to meet up at 330 today and fill out more forms, haha, then go see the first of 3 houses scheduled for the week. We have one today, one tomorrow and one Friday. Busy! I hope they are all fantastic so we can get them all then decide. I'm not sure if Elizabeth will be our third.

After that, I met Kirsten and Tom and we saw the last Girl with a dragon tattoo movie, oh, The Girl Who Played With Fire, that's what it's called! I keep forgetting. I wished I could have seen it with mum as per our tradition but never mind. I liked seeing how it ended. I had had a big dinner at Marie's so I was very full at the movie, even though I got popcorn and an ice cream. Hmm.

What else is new? Not a lot. I tried a wig on at Amy's. She shaved her hair for the Leukemia fundraiser I think it was so she and her bf Cal went and got her a wig. It's long and pink! Hehe. I hate my hair right now so I think I'll get a normal one and try that sometimes. I also need a bike. Shopping!

I need to apply for some jobs. I had best do that now.

Elizabeth and drinks on the Rooftop

I had a great night last night. I met up with Elizabeth and she is a beautiful, crazy ball of energy. She's so confident and I love that. We had drinks at the Rooftop bar on Swanston St. and it was amazing up there. We chatted to a family of Americans last night [Fred the dad, and two of his kids Alexis and Michael]. They bought us lots of drinks. Sangria! I'd never had it before and had avoided it because of the red wine factor but it was actually nice! Cold red wine is the best way to have it in my opinion. So we stayed there for ages, talked about Australian vs New Zealand vs USA vs UK stereotypes and ways of saying things. Then one of the girls Elizabeth is staying with came by and then we went to a party in Prahran then to their place not far from there. Elizabeth and I went to a few places along the way before bed. This morning we went and had breakfast a few blocks away then she went to check out some houses. She's really desperate for a place as she's a flight attendant and isn't here much so it's stressing her out after having been looking for the last month. I understand but I'm not that that stage yet. I would love a place because I'm starting to feel I shouldn't be at Kirsten's for too much longer. Arr it's so hard. So I was feeling sick all Thursday and Friday but now I'm feeling better, just a little hung over. I missed the Mission volunteering on Thursday but on Friday me and Monica and Beth went to the Victorian Collections training session for the cataloging system they use and it was lots of fun. Now I'm heading into town to meet Jess and tonight we're going to watch a Roller Derby game! Super exciting. It'll be my first real one. Eep! I might get some McDonalds on the way. Naughty but it's one of those days. Soon I have to get running shoes and start training! Got to get fit and lose my excess weight and fat. Arr it's annoying me. Right, better go actually.

Hanging with Marie

So, I am sick and it sucks. I was getting sick last night and today it was, and still is, worse. My throat makes it hard to swallow and my head is a bit funny. All in all it's not great but I'm not bed ridden. I will hop into bed soon though and watch the rest of Bridge Jones: The Edge of Reason then have an early night. Tomorrow I'll be at the Melbourne Museum for the cataloging day course so that will be fun. Then I'll meet Elizabeth and hopefully Marie will pop by to see us and see if we're a match.

I went and saw a house this afternoon not far from Kirsten's and it was really sweet. We'll apply for that but I'm not sure what our chances are. It was really sweet. Then Marie and I met up and saw the second house. She was running late to meet me at the first one. The second one was nice, more expensive but it had smaller rooms. We decided to look at other ones. We can get a better deal. After that we caught the train back into town and had some dinner at Mark's Place. I had a half and half pizza and Marie had tortellini. It was really nice. We had some good chats and laughs. I'm glad to be organising this with Marie. We're going to share some food as well as have our own stashes. Kirsten thinks I should still look for more rooms but I'd be very happy living with Marie.

Anyway, I should get off here as I'm not sure where Kirsten's laptop chord is and I need to get to bed. I wanted to make my moves on Scrabble with my cousin Paul but it won't let it load. Drat. Good night then!

Errands and 31*

Oh my gosh it has just hit 31 degrees and I have errands to run. Luckily, last night and today the fan has been on in Kirsten's room and it is just wonderful. I'm afraid to go outside but I need to get --

+ Cleaning supplies for the house. That's my job as a current household member, temporary or not.
+ New stockings and those knee-length shorts to wear while exercising.
+ Running shoes.
+ Cereal, marge, and replacement Mars Bars for Kirsten as I stupidly had hers as a snack.
+ More highlighters from Office Works and while I'm there, an ecobutton.

I don't particularly want to leave the house but I do need to. I'll be too busy with Uni tomorrow and will just want to go straight home afterward. Also, I have stopped studying because running out of highlighter ink is putting a mental block on my abilities. Arr.

I might leave it another hour and slowly get ready. If I overexert myself I'll lose my energy, especially in this kind of head. I can't stand the heat.

Day 2 and horoscopes

Oh my gosh I am broken. I have a headache and feel weird. It must be the heat and all the learning. Today at Uni we had a lecture in the morning then went to the Schwerkolt Cottage and Historical Museum. It was quite amazing. I got a lift from a lady there and back to Kirsten's and I am so glad to be back. I'm frustrated about not having my own place though. I don't want to outstay my welcome here.

A nice, inspiring and through-provoking horoscope for me today --

If you are looking for security, Scorpio, you will have to find it in yourself -- not in exterior forces like money, prestige, power, or other people. All of those can come and go. There are no guarantees. The only way to gain confidence and self esteem is to build it internally. That begins with faith -- faith in yourself, faith in your abilities, faith in those who love you, and faith in the universe. Now more than ever you need to trust that the cosmos knows what you need, and will provide it. When you can reach a sense of balance in that regard, you will gain a sense of security that no one can shatter.

My horoscope from Saturday the 5th --

If you have been feeling stressed and pressured recently by money or security-related issues, you will soon be able to breathe a sign of relief. New opportunities to increase your income and add greater stability to your financial outlook will occur just when you need them most. In the meantime, don't give up hope, and don't do anything that may cause your situation to become worse -- such as borrowing money or making a financial commitment of any kind. Over the next few months, your situation could improve to the point that you will wonder why you were ever so worried about it in the first place.

I truly hope this is true, that things improve. I do feel stressed and pressured but next Monday I will receive my Centrelink payment and that gives me comfort. The money side is a bit stressful but my main concern is finding a place to live. I want to live by myself, and as the horoscope above points to, I have to have faith in myself in that even though I will feel lonely sometimes, I am doing the best thing for myself at this time and I have friends around and can call my family whenever I want or need to. It's also about getting myself and my life organised. I want to get into the routine of great habits and I believe that living in a share house will restrict this. I can only rely on myself and by living alone I will have to be self-sufficient, which will help me grow in many ways. I just hope something turns up soon. Kirsten's laptop isn't loading the real estate page properly so I'm having a hard time.

For right now, I might get something to eat and have a rest while watching a movie, maybe Easy A. I watched Marie Antoinette a few times and I really like it. I need to send it to mum as it was her idea for me to buy it for her. It was my idea to watch it first. I love those period dramas. I belong in one. Sigh. Hopefully I will feel better soon.

Weekend re-cap and my first day

Wow. I haven't written since Friday. A lot and not a lot has happened since then. I'll start with Friday night.

Friday night was the houses combined house-warming and for Kirsten's birthday as well as a celebration of the other housemates birthdays which were a month or two ago. Lots of people came and I had a bit of fun, but most of the time I just wanted to leave but I couldn't. I went out and socialised though and had some nice enough chats. I like Kirsten's friend Tina a lot. She's lovely. Towards the end I had a really nice drink with The Germans, as Kirsten calls them, Kat and Lena. Kat is with Stefan and Lena is their friend visiting. They made an awesome drink with muddled lime, 1 shot of vodka, 1 shot of lime cordial, and lots of crushed ice. I had two of those and didn't leave enough time to get sober before I went bed. I wasn't drunk, but feeling buzzed. I was hungover in the morning. Not fun. It sucked because I got into bed at probably 2 or 3 or something but couldn't sleep because I was worried someone would come into Kirsten's room with me in there and harass me. I put my heavy suitcase in front of the door but I was still a bit paranoid and completely aware of what was going on despite trying to nap. It didn't. So Saturday I was very tired.

On Saturday we cleaned the house. I was meant to go to a trial at Kamel but was feeling sick, and had been a bit sick, so I called up and canceled. I haven't heard anything from them since then. Hmm. I don't mind though because it will be better to get a job in the suburb I end up living in. It's easier that way. If I ever find a place to live that is. I want to live alone if possible. After the cleaning, Kirsten and I went to The Great Northern nearby for some chips and a coke/diet coke. The others joined us [Sandi, the other housemate, and her new bf Nick, Stefan and Lena] then Tom [Kirsten's bf] and two of his friends came along. We didn't stay too long. Home after that and a pretty early night. Kirsten stayed over at Tom's for the night so I got the comfy bed. I've been staying on the floor on lots of blankets and a thin camping blow up mattress, which is fine, but the bed is comfier. I have it again tonight too.

Sunday I slept in and it was bad because I found it hard to sleep last night. Once I got up and had some breakfast I went into the City. I wanted to find a backpack for Uni, and I did. I went to this Traveler and Souvenir shop and got a simple backpack for $20. Great! It does the trick. I also went to the National Gallery of Victoria. I didn't see all of it as it was an extremely hot day so I will go back another time and see the rest. I wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens but once again the heat zapped me of any energy so I went to the Victoria Gardens just across the road from the NGV. Then I went back to Kisten's. Later that night she went for a run with a friend and I came along and rode her old bike. It was nice and refreshing as the weather was still nice but the wind in my face as I rode was beautiful. I loved it. We went around this pretty big circuit twice not far from the house. Then I tried to get to sleep and failed.

Today I had my first day of Uni! I thought I was going to be late but the tram driver was awesome. They kept dinging the bell to make cars get out of the way. I still don't understand why on earth they should be allowed to drive over the tram tracks the same way the tram goes. It's ridiculous! It's totally insane and I think it should be dis-aloud. Anyway, I got to the classroom and the lecture hadn't started yet but almost everyone was there. I sat in the back. The lecturer introduced herself and we all did the same. The other students have amazing backgrounds and at least two did a Bachelor of Archaeology at LaTrobe. I'm so jealous. Maybe there's a postgraduate course in archaeology I can do. I'd love that. Then we got into the lecture. Well we read through the unit outline then got into the lecture. We have 3 assignments, one of which I have done part of a draft for tonight, and I'm worried about the last two. The first one should be easy enough to knock off, but it's the others I'll struggle with I believe. I'll get some help. This unit isn't all in the classroom though, which is exciting. We went to the Deakin Art Gallery in the afternoon and will be doing similar excursions on almost each other day we're there. We have 6 days and on 5 of them we'll be out in the field. Pretty exciting. We had a look in the small Deakin gallery then went outside and saw the many sculptures around the campus. Yet another hot day so I struggled. I went on the computers for a bit after the 'lecture' ended then went home. Got off the tram and caught the train but I'm not sure it was much of a time-saver, although the tram was going extremely slow. Kirsten made a too-spicy-for-me curry and I did some homework!

Tomorrow should be good. I need to get up and leave earlier to be able to get myself something to eat for lunch. There wasn't much available at Uni and I'll have to go to the cafe early to secure an apple and cinnamon muffin. Today I got a blueberry one and it was nice but not the same. I want to buy a salad or something so I'll have to go in a lot earlier than I did today. That can be done. I didn't like the stress. I can't remember where we're going tomorrow afternoon but it should be good. Then I'll have Thai Culinary for dinner. Mmm.

There are a few more houses I need to have a look at online. There is a bit of a crappy looking one in Richmond. The ad says it's good for older people or something but I may as well take a look. You can grab the keys from the real estate and go to town. There is one in Elwood that looks nice but Kirsten says that's ages away. I remember going to St Kilda with Amy in 2005 and loved the area but I seem to recall that Elwood wasn't that far away from there and the tram ride didn't seem to take all that long. I guess we'll see. Sarah knows a guy [Nick Cupit] who is moving to Melbourne soon and looking for someone to live with. He went to our high school and apparently knows me as I have served him at thebeach, not that I remember, but Sarah and I talked on the phone about it and us living together. I'd rather my own place, at least I think so, but I might get lonely. Then again I might feel resentment living with others, regretful. There's no need to be scared. I'll be busy enough and can go and see my friends when I feel sad. I don't want to impose on Kirsten and her flatmates for too much longer. It's been a week already! Crazy. Hopefully I get the Hawthorn house for $150 a week in Mary St but I've started looking at what's closer to $200 but still under. The Elwood one is $165 I think. Hmm. I'll see what happens.

Kirsten's birthday

Today is Kirsten's birthday! We had cake for breakfast. I had cereal either side of that so I don't feel so bad. The cake was alright. I don't have anywhere in particular to be today so I'm struggling a bit with what to do. I need to go to Centrelink and I need to call the Deakin bookshop because I'm missing one set of readers, which I didn't realise. I had listed all my units as online so they sent me the books, but I changed them to on campus study. I changed one back when I saw that there were the readers but not the other as the bookshop didn't mention anything about readers. I looked online last night and they don't have the ones I need in stock so I'll call them soon and ask if there are any anywhere. There is an online copy but I prefer having the physical book. So there's that! I will also vacuum this place for Kirsten before the birthday party tonight [combined] and I need to get in contact with George's cousin about having a meet up just for fun. There are some other little things I can't think of.

Yesterday I had my first day of volunteering at the Mission to Seafarers. It's so cruisy there. Monica taught me how to catalogue photographs so I did that for most of the day. The photographs were of the stained-glass windows in the Saint Peter the Mariner's Chapel and I found it hard to describe the and use religious or olden-day terms. I'm not so good at that. She got me to bring my laptop to do some scanning on but I didn't bring the CD drive thinking I wouldn't need it so I didn't actually use it. It was a bit of a waste to lug it around there and back. We finished at around 3pm and I went and met Nicole, Sarah's now ex flatmate from Tassie. We had a drink [hot chocolate for me, iced mocha for her] and a chat. Then I did some shopping and came back here. I did some more study, found lots of useful things on the Deakin website about unit resources and unit guides. Now I just have to find out about that last reader. It's for Monday so that's a bit annoying. Arrg.

Tomorrow I have that trial at Kamel. I'm not looking forward to it only because I'm used to not working anymore and I love it! I want to keep not working and just get Centrelink. I wonder if with all the study I'm sure I'll be doing if I'll have time for a job. I'll have one, hopefully two days of volunteering work, and that leaves three days. I might have to work on a few of them but I'll need one day free for sanity and for studying but I'm sure I'll always have to study. I take a long time to read one chapter so having lots of breaks in between works the best for me. Drat it.

I had a lovely chat to mum, Sarah, James, dad and George last night in that order. It was strange being on the other side as we usually call people who are far away and now that's me. It's strange not being there for the dinner I miss that. I didn't even know about it and that makes me a little sad. Now I get what Sarah meant about being out of the loop. It was so easy living there knowing everything that was going on. Thinking about it makes me a little sad now! And feeling crap about this trial is getting me down more. It would be nice to disapparate there Harry Potter style for lunch or something lovely. If only. I was thinking of going back for Easter but I had a look at flights for the 21st to the 25th or something and it'll be $300! That's not cool. I'll check for cheaper ones. I might have a week off Uni at some stage but I'm not quite sure yet. I might go then. Who knows.

It feels so natural and relaxed being in Melbourne and yet so much, or not so much, is still happening back home. It's strange to be missing out on that. It makes me sad that I'm missing out on seeing Etta grow up more and more. I'll be back to visit eventually and not let her go. Hehe.

I really want to get started on my running training. Once I'm settled in a house I'll have to start my 6-12 week program. Kirsten mentioned the half-marathon. She's going to enter and Sandi, one of her housemates, is also going to enter and yet she hasn't trained much. It's not until October so hopefully Sandi and I will be ready by then. Plenty of time. I really hope I get the Hawthorn house. Please! I doubt it but please!

What else is news? Not much. I can't wait to start Uni on Monday but first I have to get over the hurdle of this darn trial at Kamel. I might really like it and might even get a bit of cash for it which would be awesome. I'll just have to endure it. It won't last forever. It's a shame it's so far away though. I could do Friday and Saturday day shifts there for a while. I want to keep Sundays free. I hate working on Sundays.

I went into the Telstra shop yesterday and upgraded my internet from 500mb to 1g. I can't wait for it to kick in. I didn't even have to pay! I'm so excited about that. All I need now is a new computer with internet that works. Something lighter and smaller maybe. I'm not sure if I should get one of the mini laptops or just a normal sized one. Depends if it's really light or not. I like the idea of taking a small one traveling for the internet and storing photos. One day I might have both.

I will call the Uni bookshop and see what they say about the books.

Sleepy after a long day

I am officially staying at Kirsten's. It's good to be in a home especially after Courtney left the back packer's, but I'm yearning to find my own place. There is one to look at tomorrow but it's right in the middle of one of the only things I need to attend at Uni. It's an afternoon tea for Arts and Education postgraduate students that goes from 430-6 and the house viewing is from 530-545. I'll check it out anyway as long as I don't need to stay at Uni. I think it's a one bedroom place and it's in Hawthorn, which is one of the two places I am thinking about as it took me 50 minutes to get to Deakin this morning from the city. I need to cut that time down.

So my first day of O-Week was good. I made a friend. She's 19 and doing Education so we won't see each other all that much but it's nice to know someone. I got my ID card and it's funny. I'm all shiny on my forehead and two spots on either side of my nose. Oh dear. Zain, my new friend, is a self-proclaimed 'curry' and although she had lovely brown skin, it's not as dark as it looks in her picture. Something's wrong with the photographs. Haha. We had a walk around together, waited a while for me to get my ID, had some chips, and I joined the Anime society! Tomorrow we have to be there for 9 so I'll have to get up at 6ish to make sure I leave the house for a 7ish tram to get to town at 730ish for an 830/845 arrival at Deakin. It's all a bit early but it's only one day.

On Wednesday, Nicole [Sarah's flat mate] is coming over, maybe for the night, and we'll meet up for lunch or coffee. She said to me via Twitter that she's thinking of coming over to Melbourne earlier so I'll check up on that and maybe we can get a place together. I just want to find somewhere soon. It's bugging me.

Friday night is Kirsten's house's party for several birthdays. I think it'll be a big one. I need to get champagne. This afternoon, after dragging my luggage from the YHA to the Bourke St tram and then here, Kirsten and I went for a bike ride to the shops. We both bought a few things from K-Mart and from Coles. I have a few food supplies.

I am really tired. This morning the YHA room smelt like bad breath. It was gross. So glad to be out of there because it was always noisy [at night it was the trams, in the mornings it was the other girls slamming the door and being annoying] so I'm looking forward to a better sleep tonight. I'm considering going to sleep now, but Kirsten said she might be back but to use her bed originally. I'm not sure what to do. Maybe I'll just jump in bed anyway. I have to get up at 6am after all.

First and last days

I'm leaving the YHA today and I couldn't be more happier. This morning when I went out for a shower and came back in it smelt like bad breath. Icky! Having the window open helps but it's still there. I have my CK One perfume on to help me out. I'm just trying to spend the rest of my internet card but I won't have heaps of time as I have to check out and hopefully avoid some of the rush. It give me a little time to do some of my favourite internet things though -- Scrabble, catching up on my favourites blog posts...

Today I have my first O-Week day out at Deakin and I'm pretty excited. I wonder how long the tram will take. I'm excited to time it so if I don't live on the West I'll know what to expect. If it takes ages I will be more than happy to go as planned and search for a house in Richmond or Hawthorn. I haven't had any luck, well much, even with Gumtree, but something will turn up. All in good time.

Apparently I have already used most of my internet time. It said $1 which I thought meant an hour, but $4 is an hour! It must mean 15 minutes then. Haha. Silly me.

I want to start a new blog about my life in Melbourne, only the exciting adventures to keep it light and remind me of all the fun things I can do if I forget. I'm sure I'll still write all the heavier things in here though.

So now, check-out, breakfast, head to Deakin, come back and get my bags, take them to Kirsten's then maybe go back to Uni if there are interesting things on. What a day! I can't wait.

Job, museum, friends and family

I had a job interview today at Kamel, a multi-cultural restaurant that Jess works at in South Melbourne. It didn't take long to get there on the tram and I might get a trial next week. Today I also went to the Immigration Museum and had a look around. I came across a lovely symbol for bravery that I'm considering as a tattoo. I'll have to scan it. I took a photo of it I might be able to get off Twitter. I need to be more brave and I think it'll remind me that I am brave. I'm proving that to myself here everyday. This afternoon I'm heading over to Kirsten's. She called me last night while I was heading back from Jess's house [we watched The Runaways and had a Thai curry] on the train and offered to have me over for a while. A German girl is staying I think and I'll be able to use Kirsten's room as she might stay at her bf Tom's. I got a $105 refund here at the YHA so hopefully I'll be able to head to K's tomorrow after my first day of O-Week! I can't wait to go there tomorrow. Super exciting. That's about all the news I have right now. I might go watch some more of Miss Potter before I get the tram to K's. Yahoo! Oh, I also had a chat to mum and dad this morning. I'm so glad things are so much less stressful than Sydney. It was great to talk to mum too.